An ambitious undertaking: a survey with contributions by six eminent authors, plus fine reproductions of artifacts, photos of architecture, and contemporary maps. This is more than a cross section: in order to provide context, the authors travel back centuries. Jean Fritz (Europe) sticks closest to 1492 in a brisk survey of daily life, the arts, and personalities. With her usual grace, Katherine Paterson sums up Asian history in flowing generalizations fleshed out with a laudable number of specifics. Tackling Africa, Patricia and Fredric McKissack reach far back to several great civilizations and go forward into the slave trade; their writing is accessible, their material less well organized. Beginning with a dry catalog of Pacific migrations, Margaret Mahy goes on to vivid depictions of early Maori and Australian aborigines back to the Dreamtime. And, sensibly, Jamake Highwater highlights just a few of the Americas' civilizations, concluding fatefully with the island off San Salvador. The result is far from perfect—Vitale's decorative, rather clumsy illustrations suffer in comparison with the real art, and the few maps are woefully inadequate, while even these authors are driven to oversimplification with such an assignment. But, still, there's a great deal to ponder in this attractive overview—which may be most valuable for such unexpected depictions as the Aztecs supplanting a previous civilization, or the Maori hunting a species to extinction. (Nonfiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 1992
ISBN: 0-8050-1674-0
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Can too much information give readers intellectual indigestion? When is it better to graze through a book rather than consuming it in one sitting? Is it possible to make good-for-you information as delicious as (guilty) pleasure reading? The adapted version of Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (2005) raises all of these questions. Intended to inform middle-schoolers of the wide variety of food traditions as well as discrepancies in access to adequate nutrition, this collection of photos, essays and statistics will require thoughtful concentration. Adapted and abridged text, a larger font size, the addition of small maps and basic facts about each country and the deletion of some photos that might have been judged inappropriate or disturbing help to make the wealth of information accessible to this audience. The plentiful photos are fascinating, offering both intimate glimpses of family life and panoramic views of other lands. Whether used for research or received as a gift from socially conscious adults, this version offers children plenty to chew over—but it’ll take them some time to truly digest. (Nonfiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-58246-246-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Tricycle
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2008
After years of normal living, a teenager learns he has epilepsy and has to cope not just with the disease, but with the side effects, including the hostility of his peers. High schooler Lefty has an epileptic seizure while hanging out with his best friend, Reuben, and must subsequently learn to live with the disease, deal with medication, make lifestyle changes, overcome his own fear, as well as that of family and friends, and face his peers. What little action there is in this marathon talkfest concerns Lefty and his friends (including his 12-year-old brother) smoking and drinking. In his tough, working-class neighborhood this is considered perfectly normal, and the author never counters that. Most of readers’ efforts may be spent trying to keep track of the many characters: Lefty’s friends and brothers, his mother’s tough-as-nails girlfriends, neighbors, classmates, medical personnel, etc. When Lefty, a budding writer, pens an imaginary dialogue between two elderly neighbors and a would-be mugger, the story picks up; otherwise this is a flat and emotionally distant bull session that, though extended, leads nowhere. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2000
ISBN: 1-55143-166-1
Page Count: 215
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
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